CivicCause budget overview
2026-2027 Budget and Recent Trends
San Jose's CivicCause budget overview highlights major current-year budget changes, department shifts, recent trends, and the official public source documents behind them.
This budget is still proposed and may change before the final City Council vote.
San José’s budget includes operating funds, capital funds, enterprise funds, and other fund activity. Some tables below represent partial budget slices and should not be read as the full citywide budget.
The San Jose City Council is holding budget hearings before final adoption. Open either hearing, review the agenda items, and prepare an Agenda Comment on the items that matter to you.
CivicCause helps you review agenda items and prepare a comment draft. Final submission still happens through the City's public comment process.
Recent adopted, approved, amended, corrected, or otherwise documented changes supported by official public evidence.
These links come from budget categories and cause labels already shown on this page. They point to San Jose cause pages where CivicCause tracks related meetings, issues, and civic activity.
These links use existing cause relationships in San Jose: public meetings, tracked issues, and organizations already connected to the same causes as this budget.
Largest department-level changes in the strongest currently loaded comparison layer.
Aggregate rows are kept separate from individual departments so they do not dominate the main comparison table.
| Name | 2024-2025 Adopted Budget | 2025-2026 Proposed Budget | Delta | % Change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Public Safety Departments | $840,390,640 | $863,643,303 | +$23.3M | +2.77% | ↑Increase |
| Total Departmental Uses | $1,318,882,277 | $1,340,530,101 | +$21.6M | +1.64% | ↑Increase |
| Total Community Services Departments | $220,513,654 | $215,367,178 | -$5.1M | -2.33% | ↓Decrease |
| Total Capital Maintenance Departments | $106,526,240 | $111,105,202 | +$4.6M | +4.30% | ↑Increase |
| Total General Government Departments | $151,451,743 | $150,414,418 | -$1.0M | -0.68% | ↓Decrease |
Department-level comparison from the published 2025-2026 Proposed Operating Budget Summary of General Fund Uses table.
| Name | 2024-2025 Adopted Budget | 2025-2026 Proposed Budget | Delta | % Change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Police | $543,970,677 | $567,014,420 | +$23.0M | +4.24% | ↑Increase |
| Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services | $143,866,123 | $137,918,934 | -$5.9M | -4.13% | ↓Decrease |
| Public Works | $54,957,823 | $57,620,350 | +$2.7M | +4.84% | ↑Increase |
| Mayor and City Council | $18,136,210 | $15,933,617 | -$2.2M | -12.14% | ↓Decrease |
| Transportation | $51,568,417 | $53,484,852 | +$1.9M | +3.72% | ↑Increase |
| Environmental Services | $6,262,243 | $4,484,023 | -$1.8M | -28.40% | ↓Decrease |
| Energy | $0 | $1,303,395 | +$1.3M | — | ↑Increase |
| Library | $50,726,758 | $51,816,517 | +$1.1M | +2.15% | ↑Increase |
| City Attorney | $19,031,941 | $19,905,291 | +$873.4K | +4.59% | ↑Increase |
| City Manager | $23,980,147 | $24,534,805 | +$554.7K | +2.31% | ↑Increase |
| Human Resources | $15,386,206 | $15,001,068 | -$385.1K | -2.50% | ↓Decrease |
| Finance | $24,293,996 | $24,018,285 | -$275.7K | -1.13% | ↓Decrease |
| Planning, Building and Code Enforcement | $18,990,561 | $19,207,313 | +$216.8K | +1.14% | ↑Increase |
| Fire | $296,419,963 | $296,628,883 | +$208.9K | +0.07% | ↑Increase |
| City Auditor | $2,940,006 | $3,147,486 | +$207.5K | +7.06% | ↑Increase |
| City Clerk | $3,811,716 | $4,014,590 | +$202.9K | +5.32% | ↑Increase |
| Economic Development and Cultural Affairs | $7,666,657 | $7,582,524 | -$84.1K | -1.10% | ↓Decrease |
| Information Technology | $34,559,401 | $34,611,411 | +$52.0K | +0.15% | ↑Increase |
| Housing | $667,969 | $636,996 | -$31.0K | -4.64% | ↓Decrease |
| Independent Police Auditor | $1,645,463 | $1,665,341 | +$19.9K | +1.21% | ↑Increase |
Closest shared expenditure-category comparison across 2025-2026 proposed budget materials and the 2026-2027 forecast.
| Name | 2025-2026 Proposed Budget | 2026-2027 Forecast | Delta | % Change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Non-Departmental | $345,221,925 | $186,065,719 | -$159.2M | -46.10% | ↓Decrease |
| Personal Services | $1,151,901,727 | $1,237,796,278 | +$85.9M | +7.46% | ↑Increase |
| Total Expenditures | $1,685,752,026 | $1,617,214,188 | -$68.5M | -4.07% | ↓Decrease |
| Earmarked Reserves | $57,826,453 | $5,100,000 | -$52.7M | -91.18% | ↓Decrease |
| Transfers | $36,278,616 | $23,510,294 | -$12.8M | -35.20% | ↓Decrease |
| Capital Contributions / Projects | $14,110,000 | $5,980,000 | -$8.1M | -57.62% | ↓Decrease |
| Non-Personal/Equipment | $188,628,374 | $193,352,191 | +$4.7M | +2.50% | ↑Increase |
| Contingency Reserve | $53,000,000 | $51,000,000 | -$2.0M | -3.77% | ↓Decrease |
| City-Wide Expenses | $86,434,253 | $85,475,425 | -$958.8K | -1.11% | ↓Decrease |
| Committed Additions | Not yet available in current public data | $231,000 | — | — | →No clear change |
| Departmental Total | $1,340,530,101 | Not yet available in current public data | — | — | →No clear change |
| Encumbrance Reserve | $97,572,603 | Not yet available in current public data | — | — | →No clear change |
General Fund revenue-category comparison between the 2025-2026 proposed budget and the 2026-2027 forecast.
| Name | 2025-2026 Proposed | 2026-2027 Forecast | Delta | % Change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total General Fund Sources | $1,588,179,423 | $1,561,426,744 | -$26.8M | -1.68% | ↓Decrease |
| Sales Tax | $340,000,000 | $317,200,000 | -$22.8M | -6.71% | ↓Decrease |
| Transfers and Reimbursements | $144,667,936 | $123,666,519 | -$21.0M | -14.52% | ↓Decrease |
| Total General Fund Revenues | $1,482,389,423 | $1,465,426,744 | -$17.0M | -1.14% | ↓Decrease |
| Beginning Fund Balance / Carryover | $105,790,000 | $96,000,000 | -$9.8M | -9.25% | ↓Decrease |
| Property Tax | $536,500,000 | $544,000,000 | +$7.5M | +1.40% | ↑Increase |
| Business Tax | $85,000,000 | $90,000,000 | +$5.0M | +5.88% | ↑Increase |
| Fines, Forfeitures & Penalties | $15,225,000 | $18,610,000 | +$3.4M | +22.23% | ↑Increase |
| Fees, Rates, and Charges | $31,840,531 | $29,211,875 | -$2.6M | -8.26% | ↓Decrease |
| Revenue from Money and Property | $21,935,000 | $19,500,000 | -$2.4M | -11.10% | ↓Decrease |
| Utility Tax | $143,800,000 | $145,150,000 | +$1.4M | +0.94% | ↑Increase |
| Licenses and Permits | $22,574,591 | $21,338,183 | -$1.2M | -5.48% | ↓Decrease |
| Franchise Fees | $58,988,263 | $58,038,263 | -$950.0K | -1.61% | ↓Decrease |
| Revenue from Local Agencies | $18,991,819 | $18,117,004 | -$874.8K | -4.61% | ↓Decrease |
| Revenue from the State of California | $11,800,000 | $11,500,000 | -$300.0K | -2.54% | ↓Decrease |
| Other Revenue | $11,066,283 | $10,794,900 | -$271.4K | -2.45% | ↓Decrease |
| Gas Tax | Not yet available in current public data | $18,300,000 | — | — | →No clear change |
| Real Property Transfer Tax | $0 | Not yet available in current public data | — | — | →No clear change |
| Revenue from the Federal Government | $0 | $0 | +$0 | — | →Flat |
| Telephone Tax | $22,000,000 | $22,000,000 | +$0 | +0.00% | →Flat |
| Total General Revenues | Not yet available in current public data | $1,341,760,225 | — | — | →No clear change |
| Transient Occupancy Tax | $18,000,000 | $18,000,000 | +$0 | +0.00% | →Flat |
This is the deeper trend section. Priority departments are shown first with labeled fiscal years, values, and a simple direction read.
| Department | Latest year | Latest value | 5-year change |
|---|---|---|---|
| City Attorney | 2025-2026 | $19,905,291 | +$3.1M↑Increase |
| City Auditor | 2025-2026 | $3,147,486 | +$642.0K↑Increase |
| City Clerk | 2025-2026 | $4,014,590 | +$1.4M↑Increase |
| City Manager | 2025-2026 | $24,534,805 | +$2.9M↑Increase |
| Community Energy Department | 2022-2023 | $0 | -$300.0K↓Decrease |
| Economic Development and Cultural Affairs | 2025-2026 | $7,582,524 | +$1.9M↑Increase |
| Energy | 2025-2026 | $1,303,395 | +$1.3M↑Increase |
| Environmental Services | 2025-2026 | $4,484,023 | +$992.0K↑Increase |
| Finance | 2025-2026 | $24,018,285 | +$3.8M↑Increase |
| Human Resources | 2025-2026 | $15,001,068 | +$4.6M↑Increase |
| Independent Police Auditor | 2025-2026 | $1,665,341 | +$134.8K↑Increase |
| Information Technology | 2025-2026 | $34,611,411 | +$8.8M↑Increase |
| Mayor and City Council | 2025-2026 | $15,933,617 | -$2.4M↓Decrease |
| Planning, Building and Code Enforcement | 2025-2026 | $19,207,313 | +$3.8M↑Increase |
| Total Capital Maintenance Departments | 2025-2026 | $111,105,202 | +$35.1M↑Increase |
| Total Community Services Departments | 2025-2026 | $215,367,178 | +$71.1M↑Increase |
| Total Departmental Uses | 2025-2026 | $1,340,530,101 | +$245.6M↑Increase |
| Total General Government Departments | 2025-2026 | $150,414,418 | +$24.8M↑Increase |
| Total Public Safety Departments | 2025-2026 | $863,643,303 | +$114.6M↑Increase |
Perspectives on this budget will appear here.
